04.01.25 Important news

1. 1. Hari Babu Kambhampati was sworn in as the 27th Governor of Odisha during a function at the Raj Bhavan here Friday

2. 2.Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Friday declared the unseasonal rain in December last year as a natural calamity to facilitate disbursement of compensation from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to farmers for crop damage, due to the untimely weather even.

3. 3.The state Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Friday announced the release of two Subhadra Yojana instalments of `10,000 at one go to beneficiaries who apply for the scheme before March 31

4. 4.A rare melanistic leopard with a cub has been spotted in a forest in Nayagarh district, bringing cheer to wildlife lovers, an official said Friday.

5. 5.Reports about the outbreak and rapid spread of the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China are doing the rounds on social media.

6. 6.According to the CYSD findings (Emergent Odisha: Demography and Development), the prevalence of anaemia has surged to 64 per cent, with districts like Malkangiri, Sundargarh, and Angul reporting rates above 70 per cent.

7. 7.The 5th National Chilika Bird Festival will be organised from January 6 to 12, informed Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia Friday.

8. 8.The strength of girl cadets in the NCC has risen to 40 per cent and a phase-wise expansion has been planned for the Corps in the next few years, senior officials said Friday.

9. 9.The Supreme Court Friday called for an introspection by government authorities, including the National Highways Authority of India, over excessive delays in fi ling of appeals.

10. 10.A court Friday granted regular bail to top Telugu actor Allu Arjun, an accused in the case booked over the death of a woman in a stampede here during the premiere of his latest fi lm 'Pushpa-2'.

11. 11.Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Delhi are among the 13 states and Union Territories that have been categorised as “achievers” in the logistics index chart 2024, according to a report released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry Friday.

12. 12.Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices.

13. 13.The Odisha government Friday decided to sponsor the national Kho Kho team for three years as part of its promotion of the game.

14. 14.Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Friday said the electric vehicle (EV) companies present in the meeting have unanimously agreed that they would no longer need subsidies once the existing subsidy regime ends.

15. 15.Rural poverty has declined signifi cantly to 4.86 per cent in the fi scal ending March 2024 from 25.7 per cent in 2011-12 mainly driven by government support programmes, said a SBI research released Friday.

16. 16.The Indian rupee ended at a record closing low Friday, pressured by a decline in the Chinese yuan, and logged a ninth straight week of losses due to the relentless rise in the US dollar.

17. 17.The government has released the long-awaited draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, which do not mention any penal action for violations.

18. 18.Tigress Zeenat was reintroduced to the wild at the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district Friday.

19. 19.The state government will provide additional subsidy of Rs 25,000 for installation of 1KW rooftop solar panels for solar projects with maximum capacity of 2KW.

20. 20.FC Goa and Odisha FC will look to build on their prolific recent form when they lock horns in their Indian Super League match here Saturday.